Puppet MastersS


Bizarro Earth

Can we stop pretending North Korea is a threat to world peace? Nations have the sovereign right to dictate their own policies and futures

Salah Chaaban
Russia Insider
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 18:32 UTC
"North Korean aggression"
The only country depraved enough to use nuclear weapons gets to decide who can test weapons?

New North Korean missile testing now puts the "entire" US mainland within strike range according to a recent statement made by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The testing took place on July 29 and it is the second test flight of the Hwasong 14, a long-range missile. This new ICBM system developed by North Korea is now able to fire at "random regions and locations at random times".

US and South Korean intelligence was quick to identify the missile as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM); this however differed from the Russian militaries assessment which described the missile as an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRMB), according to data from its missile warning system. The difference in ranges between the ICMB and IRBM can be up to almost 7000km.
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Gear

Tillerson refusing to release $80 million in funds to the Global Engagement Center (a.k.a. the Ministry of Truth)

Nahal Toosi
Politico
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 15:38 UTC
Tillerson
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is resisting the pleas of State Department officials to spend nearly $80 million allocated by Congress for fighting terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation.

It is highly unusual for a Cabinet secretary to turn down money for his department. But more than five months into his tenure, Tillerson has not issued a simple request for the money earmarked for the State Department's Global Engagement Center, $60 million of which is now parked at the Pentagon. Another$19.8 million sits untouched at the State Department as Tillerson's aides reject calls from career diplomats and members of Congress to put the money to work against America's adversaries.

The $60 million will expire on Sept. 30 if not transferred to State by then, current and former State Department officials told POLITICO.
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Bomb

Russia: US plan to supply lethal arms to Ukraine will escalate violence, WH blindsided


RT
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 22:31 UTC
US arms4sale
© Military file photoCheaper by the dozen?
A reported US plan to supply lethal arms to Kiev will escalate the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia's foreign ministry has warned, adding that the alleged defensive nature of the weaponry doesn't mean Washington wouldn't be responsible for a potential spike of violence.

"The masterminds of the plan to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, apparently, proceed from the assumption that the situation in the east of this country isn't explosive enough already and that it's needed to add fuel to the fire," said Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of the Russian foreign ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control. The diplomat pointed out that "references to the fact that the talk is only about the supply of weapons of a defensive nature don't change the essence of the matter."

The government in Kiev has "no one to defend from "because the forces in the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk "aren't making any attempts to expand their territory," Ulyanov said.

The reported US move only would escalate the violence as "those circles in Ukraine, who are inclined to bet on the military scenario, would probably perceive the American deliveries as an encouragement of military hostilities," he explained. "The responsibility for this development would fall not only on Kiev, but on Washington as well," Ulyanov emphasized.

Comment: Poroshenko has apparently bypassed Trump to effect an arms sale through the Pentagon and US State Department, since his last visit to Washington came up 'close' but empty. Can/will Trump nix this?

See also:

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Attention

China's MoD warns India: 'Leave Chinese land or face war'


RT
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 11:51 UTC
Tiger/Dragon
© jagran.com
A combative Indian defense expert who accused Beijing of running bellicose news stories against Delhi drew a strong response from his Chinese TV show counterpart, who said Indian troops must leave the contested Doklam area if they do not want war.

The remarks came amid a heated debate between a retired Indian Army major general and now defense commentator, Ashok Mehta, and the director of the Chinese Defense Ministry's Center for International Security Cooperation, Senior Colonel Zhou Bo. The two officers were apparently invited to comment on the tense border standoff over the Doklam plateau - a contested area sandwiched between India, China and Bhutan - on a Tuesday news show run by China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Doklam Plateau
© KIFI

Comment: Quite the media kerfuffle! This dispute is perhaps one reason India has not gravitated more to China. For China the Doklam Plateau is Chinese territory, confirmed by the Convention of Calcutta and agreed upon by India in 1960. For India, the road building is of concern although completely in China's territory so their arguments are both derogatory and unclear. Bhutan is a vassal state of India, also laying claim to the territory but has not called for a negotiation. Clearly India wants Bhutan to further this pursuit. Border disputes, tri-junctures and interpretations.

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Jet3

Pentagon to Lockheed: $3.7B advance for 50 F-35 fighter jets


RT
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 23:32 UTC
F-35
© Pascal Rossignol / ReutersThe F-35: Cheaper by the dozen with a choice of designs!
Lockheed Martin is getting billions of US tax dollars to produce F-35 fighter jets to be sold to foreign militaries. The advance payment allows the defense contractor to develop the fighter aircraft as their eleventh F-35 contract with the Pentagon is negotiated.

On Friday, the Department of Defense (DoD) awarded Lockheed Martin subsidiary Lockheed Martin Aeronautics a $3,693,062,124 interim payment to procure 50 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets intended for non-Department of Defense customers and foreign military sales (FMS) customers.

The contract provides funds for the procurement of one F-35B aircraft for Great Britain, one F-35A aircraft for Italy, eight F-35A aircraft each for Australia and the Netherlands, four F-35A aircraft for Turkey, six F-35A aircraft for Norway, and 22 F-35A aircraft for other foreign military customers.

Comment: Such a deal! Surely by now they have fixed those teensy, pesky kinks in the F-35s? The 'sky's the limit' when it comes to spending taxpayer money.

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Info

Sy Hersh: Seth Rich WAS in contact with Wikileaks

Rachel Blevins
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 14:15 UTC
sy hersh seth rich
Questions surrounding the case of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich and whether he was the source who gave thousands of classified DNC emails to WikiLeaks, reached a new level Tuesday night, when leaked audio revealed that Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh claimed Rich contacted WikiLeaks.

On the audio recording, Hersh claimed he is citing an FBI document, which states that before Rich's death, he contacted WikiLeaks with sample emails from the leak, and the evidence was then found on his computer.

"There are no DNC or Podesta emails that exist beyond May 21 or 22, last email from either one of those groups. What the report says is that sometime in late Spring... he makes contact with WikiLeaks, that's in his computer," Hersh said. "Anyway, they found what he had done is that he had submitted a series of documents-of emails, of juicy emails, from the DNC."


Comment: On the one hand, we have explicit statements from Hersh and Kim Dotcom, and a very strong hint from Assange, that Rich was in contact with Wikileaks. On the other, we have the essentially retracted statements from Fox News contributor Rod Wheeler, who is now suing Fox for "defamation" and alleging that Trump and Fox concocted the story to distract from Russiagate coverage. Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. It's possible the story is true AND that Fox and Trump gave the story a boost at a convenient time.

But now that Wheeler has turned coat, the mainstream response is the predictable "Wheeler says it's fake, therefore the whole story is fake". It's rarely so simple. Just listen to Wheeler in his own words about his investigation, especially his comments about Rich's brother, who allegedly told Wheeler not to ask anything regarding "emails" or Seth's work:


See: Bloomberg says Trump and Fox "concocted" Seth Rich/DNC murder story - investigator suing Fox for allegedly misquoting him

As for the alleged Trump connection, Fox and the White House issued responses, saying:
"The accusation that FoxNews.com published Malia Zimmerman's story to help detract from coverage of the Russia collusion issue is completely erroneous. The retraction of this story is still being investigated internally and we have no evidence that Rod Wheeler was misquoted by Zimmerman. Additionally, Fox News vehemently denies the race discrimination claims in the lawsuit - the dispute between Zimmerman and Rod Wheeler has nothing to do with race."
Sanders on Monday issued a statement directly from the White House that read:
"The president had no knowledge of the story, and it's completely untrue that he or the White House [had] involvement in the story. Beyond that, this is ongoing litigation, and I would refer you to the actual parties involved, which aren't the White House."


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Snakes in Suits

Stirring up 'Russophobia': Mike Pence accuses Russia of trying to assassinate Montenegrin Prime Minister


Sputnik
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 13:23 UTC
Mike Pence
© REUTERS/ Carlo Allegri
US Vice President Mike Pence launched a verbal assault on Russia amid his visit to Montenegro on Wednesday, accusing Moscow of actions that could prevent the tiny Balkanese nation from joining NATO.

Pence accused Russia of trying to attack the Montenegrin parliament and attempting to assassinate the country's prime minister to dissuade Podgorica from joining NATO.

"Russia continues to seek to redraw international borders by force, and here in the Western Balkans Russia has worked to destabilize the region, undermine your democracies and divide you from each other and from the rest of Europe. Russia's intentions were laid bare over the past year when Moscow backed agents, sought to disrupt Montenegro's elections, attack your parliament and even attempt to assassinate your prime minister to dissuade Montenegrin people from entering our NATO alliance," Pence said in an address at the Adriatic Charter Summit in Montenegro.


Comment: Pence is accusing Russia of using the same play book that Washington uses.

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Bad Guys

Rex Tillerson injects sanity into US foreign policy on North Korea & China

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 13:01 UTC
Rex Tillerson
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Rex Tillerson's calm, logical and pragmatic approach begs the question: is he really in charge of US foreign policy and if not, why not?

Rex Tillerson has emerged from his time off, defying rumours of an early retirement. His recent statements made on the biggest issues of the day, mark a sharp contrast from the statements of the majority of American's Congressmen and women as well as many voices from inside the Trump administration.

While Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN has disparaged the institution she is an ambassador to, saying that discussions on North Korea are 'pointless', Rex Tillerson offered a totally different perspective, one that is more rational and safer given that Haley's remarks suggest military action is on the table. Tillerson's remarks by contrast, unambiguously rule out military action.
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Attention

Assumption of US dominance in the world is ending, inevitable imperial decline is looming

Danielle Ryan
RT
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 12:26 UTC
US Navy
© Erik Hildebrandt / Reuters
Iran, China, and Russia are challenging the US in the seas and skies. It's a symptom of America's declining global influence.

In his new book about the decline of US global power, historian Alfred McCoy writes, that faced with a fading superpower, incapable of paying its bills, other powers will begin to "provocatively challenge US dominion" in the seas and skies.

This is happening already with what appears to be increasing regularity, although perhaps "provocative" is not the right adjective to describe it.

The American military has been the chief provocateur in the seas and skies for decades, entering foreign airspace and territorial waters with impunity, expecting no retaliation. Now, powers like China, Iran and Russia are more actively challenging the US's unchecked behavior.

Comment: Buckle up! We're in for a rough ride as the psychopaths-in-charge start getting even more desperate.

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Rocket

USAF test-fires Minuteman III missile, fourth one this year


RT
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 12:16 UTC
Minuteman III missile
© boeing.com
The US Air Force test-launched a Minuteman III missile, just days after North Korea fired its latest ICBM into the Sea of Japan (also called the East Sea). The US missile, carrying no warhead, is expected to hit a mock target on a Pacific atoll.

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) lifted off at 2:10am local time from the US Air Force North Vandenberg base, some 210km (130 miles) northwest of Los Angeles, AP reported.

The launch is said to "validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system," according to Colonel Michael Hough, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command's 30th Air Wing.

"Team V is postured to work with Air Force Global Strike Command to test launch the Minuteman III missile," Hough said in a statement. "Our long history in partnering with the men and women of the 576th Flight Test Squadron shows that the Western Range stands ready and able to create a safe launch environment."
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